Category Archives: Gluten-free vegan

After our football season ended so tragically last weekend, The Man and I consoled ourselves with this vanilla ice cream. Granted, I had planned for this to be a celebration treat. But. So it goes.

Vanilla Ice Cream

1 can coconut milk

1/4 c honey

3 vanilla beans

Makes enough for four, or just two football-depressed people.

Split the vanilla beans down the center with a sharp knife. Scrape out the goodness.

Put the vanilla beans, vanilla paste, honey, and coconut milk in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat and let the mixture sit for several hours so the coconut milk is flavored with the vanilla.

Pour into the canister of your ice cream maker and process.

Note to self: This makes a really rich and coconut-y/vanilla-y ice cream that is awesome. In the past, I always put 1/3 c of honey in my coconut milk ice creams, but since I’ve been cutting back on honey, fruit, and carbs, 1/4 c of honey in this was just fine.

Quelle horreur, I cannot believe how long it’s been since I last posted. Suffice to say my life has been truly insane with holidays, inter-state driving, family trips, friends trips, and drumroll please, a new job. I can hardly get my teeth brushed and keep my laundry clean under the current conditions.

We did a lot of cooking over the holidays, however, and I have several recipes I need to post. Here’s the first and it’s a two-fer!

This all started at a party where The Man ate some apparently awesome date nut balls that were not safe for me. He left the party determined that I should eat a close, SCD-legal facsimile of his own devising. I’ll post both recipes for those that can eat toxic substances without harm (ahem, sugar).

Needless to say, there were many a joke about the name of these delicious treats at the various holiday potlucks where we shared them. The name is based on a game we played a lot over the holidays called My Chocolate Salty Balls. If you want to know how to play this game, it’s basically like “Soggy Wieners” using “My Chocolate Salty Balls” instead. Yes, these are the kinds of games my family plays at holidays.

The Man’s Nutty Balls (SCD)

1 lb chopped medjool dates

12 T butter, melted (1.5 sticks)

1 c honey

2 c dried coconut flakes (small shred)

4 c chopped walnuts

This makes a supreme boatload, plenty for a group of family or friends, and they store well in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Melt 6 tablespoons of butter and coat the chopped walnuts with it. Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown. Mmmmm.

Allow the walnuts to cool and then mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.

Scoop out a tablespoon or so of the mixture and roll it into a ball. Repeat this step until the mix is gone, separating layers of the balls with waxed paper.

Store in the fridge until hard. Eat cold (for the crunch factor).

I wish I had a picture of these, but apparently, I was too busy stuffing my face and playing My Chocolate Salty Balls to take a photo.

Here is the original recipe we got from our pal, Amy S.

Mom’s Date Nuts Balls

1 lb chopped medjool dates

8 T butter

8 T margarine

2 c brown sugar

1 c dried coconut flakes

1 c chopped nuts

4 c Rice Krispies

Powdered sugar

Blend butter, margarine, and brown sugar.

Add the dates to the mix and cook for six minutes on the stove [I’m guessing over medium heat, but this was not specified].

I’ve followed New Cascadia Traditional gluten-free bakery from their humble farmer’s market beginnings to their full-fledged and beautiful cafe space in Southeast Portland. I’ve always been a huge fan of their vegan chocolate cupcake, so much so I don’t allow myself to get it anymore.

Today I tried the margarita pizza for lunch, which was pretty good. It’s a thin crust, which is a nice contrast to the thick crust they serve at Picazzo’s. I got the vegan chocolate chip cookie too, which I think is actually better than the non-vegan variety. I’ll have to go back and verify that several more times, just to be sure (wink).

I also got a sourdough loaf to go. When I got it home, The Man picked it up, chuckled, and said, “Gluten-free, right?” because it weighs a ton. I think there is just no way to make a light and airy gluten-free sourdough loaf. If there is, I have yet to taste it. That being said, their sourdough is pretty darn tasty and makes an incredible grilled cheese when you slice it thin.

I’m super grateful to have such a fantastic gluten-free bakery in my extended neighborhood. I hope someday they decide to add deli sandwich options to their menu because that would be the ultimate for me. In the meantime, I’m happy to make my own grilled cheese at home:

If you’re looking for some good black eyed peas recipes to bring on the good luck for 2010, I tried these and they are super good, and healthy! Who knew a cup of black eyed peas only has 200 calories? Nevermind that they’re deep fried. Snacky-snacky!

At long last, we have the menu planned. I have to qualify this and say that I’m trying to practice flexibility and not get all Martha about it. That makes me crazy and then I don’t enjoy myself. So, with that said, let’s call this the preliminary menu, subject to change without notice.

As I said in a previous post, this Thanksgiving will be attended by:

A diabetic vegan

A celiac

Another person with food issues, and

The Man, who hates mushrooms.

Fortunately, I still have a sense of humor and I love to cook, so for me, it’s fun. It’s also makes for the setup to a great joke: A diabetic vegan, a celiac, and a mushroom-hater walk into a bar… Get some quince liqueur into me and I’ll be the life of the party.

Travel Oregon put together a really awesome Oregon-themed cookbook that highlights autumn ingredients. The recipes are gathered from restaurants around Oregon. What a great idea. Methinks I’ll be printing this out and trying a bunch of stuff, including the crazy-but-very-right-sounding Juniper Granita. Between this cookbook and the Bon Appetit Thanksgiving planner, I think I’ll be set for My Big Fat Turkey Thursday (mostly vegan).

Did I wake up this morning and it’s already September 1st? How is that possible? And yet, already I feel those strange cool breezes and notice the sun acting funny, setting a lot earlier than it should. Alas, I have a mere twenty-one days of summer left to enjoy.

Thankfully, the weather actually seems to be cooperating here for once. We’ve had some beautiful days of eighty-degree weather. I’m hoping it holds so that my newly planted collards, kales, and greens get a decent start before The Rain begins. Also, it’s nice to use my stovetop again finally. I’m making a soup right now from my old Fields of Greens cookbook. Mmmm!

If I must bid summer adieu, what better way to do it than to post my strawberry ice cream recipe? This is the recipe we served at El Puerco this year, so for those of you in attendance, you’ll (hopefully) remember it fondly. Somehow, sadly, I forgot to take a picture of it, so I have included a photo of the menu instead.

Macerate the strawberries in the sugar for 30-60 mins. Put the coconut milk, agave syrup, and macerated strawberries into a blender and blend. Pour this mix into your ice cream maker and proceed according to mfr’s instructions. I think it’s especially good to top the finished product with more macerated strawberries, as we did at El Puerco.

Every time I post one of these coconut milk ice cream recipes I feel obligated to say my disclaimer, which is: forget about dairy-based homemade ice creams. Using coconut milk is the BEST. You don’t have to make it up ahead of time and it freezes way better than homemade dairy ice cream. Take a leap of faith for me on this, and let me know how it turns out if you try it.

El Puerco Menu next to the Declaration of Independence

Oh yeah, and I also updated my Flickr feed. One day on my way to volunteering at the Travel Portland Visitor Information Center, I took some photos along the way, mostly to entice my friends and family to visit me. You should be able to click on that in the right sidebar. Enjoy!

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About

Diagnosed with celiac disease (dermatitis herpetiformis) in 2004, I've been gluten-free since then. Because the GF diet hasn't seemed to work for me, I'm trying the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. No grains, no sugar, no potatoes, and limited dairy. Here's what I do eat.
If you're looking for my fiction and freelance writing, it's over here.
Name: Melanie Jennings
Location: Portland, OR, USA